wedding registry

You have sent out the invitations, and your guests are so excited to attend your wedding, but what are they going to get you? Every guest wants to get you something different, something unique. They don’t want to be the one to get you your second blender, and frankly, you also do not want that to happen. Having a registry is crucial to the success of your wedding. Here are some of the essential items you need to add to your wedding registry.Read more…

Creating a bridal registry is as much a service to wedding guests as it is a treat for the bride and groom. The people whom you choose to invite to your wedding will only want to give you essential items for your future together. If you are newly engaged, planning a bridal shower, or looking for the latest wedding trends, wedding planners at The Manor share exclusive tips to help brides and their families search, sort, and find the best shower items for your wedding registry.

When your wedding is over, your wedding planning tasks are most definitely not over. There are still some important wedding To-Do’s to complete. Many come from the world of wedding etiquette, and some begin your happily ever after with smart, protective steps to help ensure your peace of mind and financial health.

We’d like to help you avoid some of the most common wedding registry mistakes. During our decades of getting to know so many wedding couples, we’ve heard a number of them talk about their wedding gift lists, specifically the problems they’re having with them and what they’d do differently if they could register for gifts all over again.

Here are the wedding registry mistakes we hope you’ll keep at the forefront of your mind as you create your bridal registries and also as you maintain your lists now until your wedding day, and even afterward:

Registering for too few items. That’s right, wedding couples who don’t want to appear greedy to their friends and family limit their wedding registry lists to just a handful of items, which not only keeps them from receiving everything they’ll need to set up their home, but also leaves wedding guests without enough gift options in their budget to choose from. Don’t be shy. Sign on for lots of wedding giftpossibilities, and guests will be more likely to be grateful than offended.

Only having one registry. With so many unique registries out there, don’t limit yourself to just one kind of wedding registry. Look into creating a honeymoon registry, charitable registry, a registry at a local sporting goods store if you like to enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle as so many of our New Jersey couples do, a wine registry, or other type of wedding gift list.

Registering in a single price range. Load up your list with lots of gifts in a very affordable price range, such as under $50, and then add items in the $50 to $100 price range, some in the $100 to $200 price range, and follow the new wedding registry trend of adding a few big-ticket items that can be given to you by groups, such as your bridal party (who are each saving money by splitting the cost of a pricy gift for you! That $400 coffee maker is just $40 apiece if there are 10 bridesmaids and groomsmen giving the gift together!)

Not signing on for gift cards. Again, it doesn’t make you look greedy to ask for 10 $50 gift cards, 10 $100 gift cards and so on. Guests know that you’ll need to buy some household essentials after the wedding, items you didn’t get for bridal shower gifts, and gift cards let you do so without guilt.

Choosing the wrong delivery address. If you live in an apartment, you don’t want these valuable gifts being delivered to your entryway with no doorman able to take them in for you. It may be smarter to have all of your wedding gifts delivered to your parents’ home, where they can take them in and protect them for you.

We’d like to help you avoid some of the most common wedding registry mistakes. During our decades of getting to know so many wedding couples, we’ve heard a number of them talk about their wedding gift lists, specifically the problems they’re having with them and what they’d do differently if they could register for gifts all over again.

Here are the wedding registry mistakes we hope you’ll keep at the forefront of your mind as you create your bridal registries and also as you maintain your lists now until your wedding day, and even afterward:

1. Registering for too few items. That’s right, wedding couples who don’t want to appear greedy to their friends and family limit their wedding registry lists to just a handful of items, which not only keeps them from receiving everything they’ll need to set up their home, but also leaves wedding guests without enough gift options in their budget to choose from. Don’t be shy. Sign on for lots of wedding gift possibilities, and guests will be more likely to be grateful than offended.

Only having one registry. With so many unique registries out there, don’t limit yourself to just one kind of wedding registry. Look into creating a honeymoon registry, charitable registry, a registry at a local sporting goods store if you like to enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle as so many of our New Jersey couples do, a wine registry, or other type of wedding gift list.

2. Registering in a single price range. Load up your list with lots of gifts in a very affordable price range, such as under $50, and then add items in the $50 to $100 price range, some in the $100 to $200 price range, and follow the new wedding registry trend of adding a few big-ticket items that can be given to you by groups, such as your bridal party (who are each saving money by splitting the cost of a pricy gift for you! That $400 coffee maker is just $40 apiece if there are 10 bridesmaids and groomsmen giving the gift together!)

3. Not signing on for gift cards. Again, it doesn’t make you look greedy to ask for 10 $50 gift cards, 10 $100 gift cards and so on. Guests know that you’ll need to buy some household essentials after the wedding, items you didn’t get for bridal shower gifts, and gift cards let you do so without guilt.

4. Choosing the wrong delivery address. If you live in an apartment, you don’t want these valuable gifts being delivered to your entryway with no doorman able to take them in for you. It may be smarter to have all of your wedding gifts delivered to your parents’ home, where they can take them in and protect them for you.

When you’re looking forward to your wedding day, one of the most enjoyable first tasks that bride and groom share is creating a bridal registry, and in today’s wedding world it’s become quite common to establish multiple gift lists for guests to look at as they decide what to get you for your engagement party, bridal shower, or wedding gift.

Creating a bridal registry is, according to wedding etiquette experts, a service to the wedding guests as much as it is a treat for you. After all, wedding guests want to get you the things you need and want for your home and lifestyle. They enjoy clicking onto your bridal registry, seeing the items you’ve selected, learning your style, and purchasing from your list.

1. Create two to three different registries. Start with the traditional home décor and kitchen registry, and continue on to set up a list at a home improvement store (such as Home Depot or Lowes) to help you redecorate or remodel your home, or create a beautiful garden and backyard. You might create a honeymoon registry, or a charitable registry where guests can get you an exotic treat for your getaway, or donate to your favorite cause.

2. Upgrade your housewares. Couples want the good chef’s saucepans and carving knives, or high thread-count sheets, so they’re registering for the newest and best items on the market.

3. Register for all seasons. When you’re adding sheets and bedding sets to your wedding registry list, be sure to register for lightweight fabrics that will be most comfortable during the spring and summer, as well as for heavier fabrics, blankets and throws for the cooler fall and winter months.

4. Register for electronics. Now, bride and groom registry picks include Energy-Star™ kitchen appliances, GPS systems, security systems and other electronic gadgets that make their homes comfortable and energy-efficient, and add to an exciting lifestyle in the future.

Register for entertaining. Our New Jersey wedding couples love to entertain, and they envision a future married life in which they’ll host holiday dinners and throw dinner parties, showing off their gourmet cuisine. If you dream of entertaining, add plenty of serving platters, barware, glassware, wine decanters, sangria pitchers and other entertaining musts to your bridal registry gift lists.

Don’t forget to keep adding items to your bridal registry gifts lists all throughout your engagement season, so that guests have plenty of affordable options, and so that you get plenty of chances to enjoy the fun of registering for wedding gifts together. Many official registries also have ‘completion programs,’ offering you 10% or 15% discounts on the gifts that remain on your list after the wedding, so when you add additional wedding gift items to your list, you can get them more affordably later on.

Many brides and grooms wonder what they should register for when they already own all of the cookware, linens and décor they could possibly want, so a new trend is focusing on the honeymoon as a wedding gift inspiration. While honeymoon registries do exist, offering guests the chance to give the wedding couple the gift of a romantic sunset dinner cruise or couples’ massages on the beach or even a share of the couple’s stay at their resort, some couples prefer to register for items they’ll use while on their honeymoons.

Honeymoon gifts

Here are some of the most popular wedding registry items that can make that dream honeymoon getaway all the more special:

• A Flipcam or digital camcorder to record their adventures

• A top-of-the-line digital camera (Bridal parties often choose this item as their split-expense Group Gift to the happy couple)

• Luggage (Upgrading the couple’s existing older or mismatched sets, this too is a popular ‘group gift’ as well as a popular gift from parents.)

• Luxury pampering items, such as massage lotions in top-brand sets

• Spa robes made from cashmere or soft bamboo fabric

• Gift cards to the couple’s favorite clothing stores, so that they can purchase new formal outfits, casualwear or bathing suits for their honeymoon wardrobes

• Gift cards to their booked resort, so that they can treat themselves to an ultra-romantic private dining experience on the beach, or enjoy all of their meals and drinks for free

• Travel pillows for long-flight comfort

• Monogrammed luggage tags

• Monogrammed travel journal for recording honeymoon memories

• Travel guidebooks about their destination’s history and attractions, and more.

If the mention of gift cards surprises you, please know that it is acceptable in today’s wedding etiquette rules to add gift cards to a wedding registry. It is not acceptable to request cash gifts on a registry, no matter how much cash gifts are preferred. As an added bonus: guests love giving the happy couple honeymoon-centric gifts, adding to their trip of a lifetime.